Brand in action: Mastercard

Who: Mastercard and AMP Sound Branding

What: The rise of voice assistants has sparked a flood of brands recognising the need for a clearer and deeper audio brand; one that sits at the heart of the overall brand strategy. At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, a number of brands focused on audio, but one stood out. Mastercard, which launched its sonic brand at the 2018 Grammys, took the stage at Cannes with a chamber orchestra and Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang. Through sound and sight, it explored the depth of its new audio brand, crafted by German-headquartered sonic brand agency AMP.

Why: Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar said the multilayered brand was developed with voice-driven communications in mind. The approach had to be flexible, yet interesting enough to stave off tedium. “The fatigue factor has to be minimal,” he said. That was an important element to the new audio brand because it was to be tailored to different types of uses – from sports sponsorships to intimate dinner parties – and to different locations – from the American west to the Chinese coast. That meant AMP had to develop the primary melody into a wide-ranging audio brand that encompassed different styles of music, different touchpoints and different audiences. The process mirrored the depth of strategy that is typically applied to a visual brand.

How: Uli Reese, global chief marketing officer at AMP, says the AMP team took inspiration from things like James Bond and Star Trek, in which a single recognisable sound style can be applied across decades and across different pieces of content. “What they are doing is really flexible because it’s not about multiple cultures and it’s not about different styles of music, it’s about different touchpoints,” AMP’s global CEO and founder Michele Arnese, says. “You can understand that even if we don’t know how Mastercard sounds in live events or on mobile apps, you can imagine it. You know that the brand has everything it needs for a full implementation.”